beat Sacramento and would need Denver to

Donte DiVincenzo’s draft stock started rising after a breakout performance in the NCAA Tournament championship game.

Now the sixth man for Villanova’s title-winning squad is a first-round draft choice for one of the NBA’s up-and-coming teams. The Milwaukee Bucks selected DiVincenzo with the 17th overall pick of the NBA draft on Thursday night.

DiVincenzo fills a critical need for a perimeter shooter in Milwaukee Trent Murphy Color Rush Jersey , where he should feel comfortable coming off the bench as a rookie.

”And to watch him come off the bench the majority of the time and contribute and produce the way that he did, shows that he really not only says that he wants to play a role in winning and will sacrifice and do whatever it takes to win, but he actually did it,” Bucks general manager Jon Horst said. ”And not only did he do it, he did it at a high level.”

Starting just 10 games last year, DiVincenzo was named the top sixth man in the Big East after averaging 13.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game. His 31-point outburst against Michigan in the title game, including five 3-pointers, helped scouts take notice of the 6-foot-5 sophomore.

Perhaps most important to the Bucks, DiVincenzo shot 40 percent from 3-point range last season.

The Bucks shot 35.5 percent from 3-point range last season, tied for 21st in the NBA. They averaged just 8.8 3s a game, 27th in the league. Better shooting from teammates could give Antetokounmpo even more room to maneuver in the lane for a highlight-reel bucket.

”Unreal,” DiVincenzo said at the draft in Brooklyn when asked about playing with Antetokounmpo. ”My job is to just to go in there and make sure he has all the confidence in the world that I’m on the court with him.”

The Bucks had their pick of wings with shooting ability with the 17th pick, with Miami’s Lonnie Walker and Maryland’s Kevin Huerter also on the board. They could also use a rugged interior defender and rebounder.

But DiVincenzo was too good to pass up. He also played in a pro-style system at Villanova, which Horst said could help the guard get better acclimated to the NBA.

”But for us to be able to get him … a guy that has positional size, that can shoot, pass Mike McGlinchey Color Rush Jersey , dribble, defend at a high level, compete and, again, to win at a high level, he’s proven he can do that. Very excited to have him,” Horst said.

DiVincenzo will still have to earn playing time from Mike Budenholzer, who was hired last month to replace interim coach Joe Prunty. In Budenholzer, Horst hired a coach with a reputation for player development who took the Atlanta Hawks to the Eastern Conference finals in 2015.

One of the league’s up-and-coming franchises hopes to take another step forward after first-round playoff exits in three of the past four seasons. The Bucks are also moving into a new arena this fall.

”They’re a playoff team and they’re … on the rise Kalen Ballage Color Rush Jersey ,” DiVincenzo said. ”My job is just coming there with no ego and just be the hardest worker and just build confidence in the people around me.”

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MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Timberwolves have just two regular-season games remaining, and it is possible they will need to win both to make the playoffs for the first time since 2004.

One reason occurred two weeks ago when the Memphis Grizzlies shot 47.6 percent and handed the Timberwolves a 101-93 home loss.

Minnesota hopes to atone for its sub-par showing against the Grizzlies Monday night when the teams get together at the Target Center.

Minnesota (45-35) enters the game against Memphis in the eighth and final spot in the Western Conference. The Timberwolves (45-35) have the same record as the Denver Nuggets, but Minnesota currently holds the tiebreaker, though it hosts Denver Wednesday.

Ahead of the Timberwolves are a cluster of teams all jockeying for playoff positioning. The Utah Jazz, New Orleans Pelicans, San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder are the four teams immediately ahead of Minnesota in the wild Western Conference playoff race.

Helping Minnesota’s chances in its final two games is the return of veteran Jimmy Butler, who missed 17 games with a knee injury. Butler returned to action on Friday and helped lift the Timberwolves over the Los Angeles Lakers in a much-needed road win by scoring 18 points in a 113-96 win.

On Friday, Butler scored 11 points after halftime when the Wolves outscored the Lakers by a 62-38 margin.

Minnesota struggled without its Butler on the court, especially on the defensive end. In Butler’s absence http://www.coltsauthorizedshops.com/aut … wis-jersey , the Wolves went 8-9, allowed 109.8 points per game, posted a 109.6 defensive rating and allowed opponents to shoot 47.4 percent from the field.

“When you play hard, just good things happen,” Butler told the Minneapolis Star Tribune after Friday’s win. “Hopefully, everybody takes note of that and realizes how important these games are down the stretch. Now we need to go get two more.”

The first of Minnesota’s remaining two games is against a Grizzlies club with the second-worst record in the NBA. However, Memphis (22-58) held Minnesota to 41 percent shooting two weeks ago.

“I give those guys a ton of credit for battling and fighting through the ups and downs of the season,” Grizzlies interim head coach J.B. Bickerstaff told the Memphis Commercial Appeal after beating the Timberwolves. “Not giving in and competing.”

Memphis also posted a 95-92 home victory on Dec. 4 in Memphis. Given what’s at stake, the Timberwolves can’t afford to go 0-3 to the Grizzlies Alex Cappa Color Rush Jersey , especially since Minnesota also owns eight defeats to teams with at least 50 losses this season.

The Grizzlies are coming off a 130-117-win Sunday against Detroit when they shot a season-high 57.8 percent and also made 48.5 percent of 3-point shots.

Memphis is 4-8 since snapping a 19-game losing streak March 17 against Denver.

It’s possible Minnesota could clinch a playoff spot Monday, but it would need some help. The Timberwolves would first have to win. They would also need San Antonio to beat Sacramento and would need Denver to lose to Portland.

If all three of those don’t happen Monday, that makes Wednesday’s regular-season finale against Denver even more crucial.

“Last time I had two games that mattered a lot, it didn’t end well,” Minnesota center Karl-Anthony Towns told the Star Tribune, referring to his only season of college basketball at Kentucky when he lost to Wisconsin in the national semifinals three years ago. “Let’s hope this one goes right.”